The City Nature Challenge is an international collaboration between cities to see how much wildlife we all can observe, how many species we can find and how many people we can engage in a four-day period. It's a bioblitz that happens all over the world! This year’s challenge starts on April 24th and ends on April 27th.

Even in urban areas, we are surrounded by nature. In fact, pockets of habitat in urban areas are becoming increasingly important for wildlife to survive as urban areas expand. Documenting the nature around us helps scientists, local governments, land managers and citizens like you understand what lives where, how this changes over time and what we can do to protect wildlife. We need your help to learn as much as we can about the wild plants, animals and other wildlife of Knox and the surrounding counties of central East Tennessee.

Join us for the City Nature Challenge! Cities all over the world will collaborate to observe as much wildlife as possible. Help us record observations of wild plants, animals, fungi and more for the world’s largest wildlife census while learning who lives nearby.

Where and When: Anywhere in Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier, and Union Counties, TN from April 24th – April 27th. More information: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026-knox-area